The present invention refers to a car body for a rail vehicle. In particular, it refers to a car body including a number of beams arranged to carry one or more wall elements. Furthermore, the invention refers to a method for manufacturing of a beam to the car body of a vehicle.
The term xe2x80x9cwall elementsxe2x80x9d should be considered in a wide sense and may include a floor, a roof, and side walls of the vehicle. In particular, they include sheets which are supported by beams.
The term car body should be seen in a wide meaning and includes all types of shell constructions arranged to surround and define the interior of a vehicle.
The term xe2x80x9cbeamxe2x80x9d concerns all the reinforcing and supporting beams or braces which are arranged to carry the floor, the walls, and the roof of the car body and which, in addition, can be utilized as a support for further components in the car body.
The invention is particularly advantageous for car bodies for train wagons, and will therefore for the purpose of exemplifying be described in such a context. In particular, the invention is applicable to train wagons, which include car bodies made of steel or aluminum and which include a framework of beams and an outer sheet casing.
Further component or systems in such car bodies, such as interior equipment, channels, cabling, floor equipment, etc., are attached to the beams via attaching elements, which are attached to the beams by welding, riveting, or using threaded fasteners. The arrangement of such joints is a labor intensive and costly factor for the manufacture of such car bodies. Furthermore, welded joints cause irregularities in the even surfaces of, for instance, the wall elements and components attached to a beam. Such irregularities can include buckling caused by the heat from the welded joint and/or shape changes of one or more beams and the wall element/s attached thereto. Thus, a reduction of the number of such joints is desired also for aesthetic reasons. Moreover, irregularities caused by welded joints result in inexact tolerances of the walls, for instance, so that problems can occur with the fitting between different parts such as walls and floors.
An object of the present invention is to provide a car body which has such a design that it allows an easy and reliable mounting of different components, such as interiors, channels, cabling, bogie wagon equipment etc. at one or more beams in the car body. Individual beams shall be so designed that welded, riveted, and screwed joints can be replaced by such joints that are well suited for their purpose to fix said components to the beams, and so that damage to the beams, the wall elements and the further components is avoided in the best possible way during the mounting. Furthermore, the beams should have a design allowing a totally or almost totally automatized, industrial manufacturing of those to a low cost.
These objects are achieved by a car body of the initially defined kind which is characterized in that at least one of said beams includes an attaching member extending substantially in the longitudinal direction of the beam for engagement with at least a part of one or more components intended to be supported by the beam. As a part of said components, also intermediate attaching elements are included, for instance attaching rulers for standardized profile rail systems, such as C-rail systems. A further benefit achieved thanks to the invention is that such attaching elements easily can be positioned practically anywhere along the attaching member and also easily removed if required without leaving any considerable traces.
The attaching member defines preferably a recess or a bulge and can be accomplished during manufacturing of the beam by, for instance, extrusion or rolling of the beam. Thanks to the engagement between the recess/bulge and said part of the component, the requirement of further joints between the beam and the component in question is reduced. According to a preferred embodiment, the recess or the bulge and said part of the component or components have such a complementary shape that a form locking is achieved between the recess/bulge and said part at said engagement. The need for further joints between the beam and the component in question is therefore totally or almost totally eliminated. The form locking includes, for instance, that the component or said part of it, when being in engagement with the beam, clamps to the beam, for instance by effect of a nut or a snap mechanism.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the attaching member is an integrated part of the beam. Joints for fixing the attaching member to the beam are therefore not needed, and an aesthetically attractive beam, free from splicing, is utilized.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the beam includes a sheet with a substantially constant thickness, and the recess is defined by the shape of the sheet. In this way, the attaching member in the form of the recess/bulge can be accomplished by, for instance, rolling of the sheet, and accordingly at a relatively low cost. The manufacturing of the beam does not need to be done by mechanical tooling (milling or the like) for the accomplishment of the recess/bulge, and accordingly unnecessary losses of material are avoided.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method for manufacturing of a beam for a car body of a vehicle, which method to a great extent should be suited for automatic, industrial manufacturing and results in a beam with such a design that the need for welded, riveted, and screwed joints, etc. for fixing further components to the beam can be considerably reduced. This object is achieved according to the invention by a method of the initially defined kind, characterized in that an attaching member, running substantially in the longitudinal direction of the beam, is arranged in the beam. The beam is elongated when it is ready for use, and the attaching member can easily be accomplished in connection with the extrusion or rolling of the beam to its final shape. The beam with the attaching member in the form of the recess/bulge can define a standardized profile rail and work as an engaging member relative to further components, such as interiors, cabling, bogie wagon equipment, etc. in the car body. Attaching elements for standardized profile rail systems can in the first place be used for engagement with the attaching member. These attaching elements then form a part of said components and can easily be moved from a position to another and be completely removed for moving or removal of said components.
According to a preferred embodiment, the beam includes a sheet and the attaching member is accomplished by rolling of the sheet. Expensive mechanical tooling, such as milling, for accomplishment of the attaching member is thereby avoided. Practically no losses of material occur.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the attaching member, when it defines a recess, has a substantially T-shaped cross-section. By a corresponding design of a part of a component to be fixed to the beam, a very firm engagement between the beam and the component can be achieved. The orifice of the recess towards the long side of the beam can be made relatively narrow, and the arrangement of the recess does not need to entail any weakening of the beam. An attaching element or a part of a component to be attached to the beam, may have a foot member, which is led into the T-groove and a nut member for fixing the foot member in the groove, which fixing is known per se.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will be seen in the appended claims and the detailed description.